The first thing noticed when the Jeep Wrangler Sahara is in a garage is, “Wow, this doesn’t take up much space.” And then there is the “Duh” moment: “What’s this doing in a garage?”

The 2009 Jeep Wrangler, like all Jeep versions dating back to World War II, is meant to be outside with an open roof and, preferably, off road.

We say preferably because this is a kinder, gentler Jeep than its predecessors, making for on-road suitability. Coming in Base, midlevel Sahara and Rubicon trims, the Wrangler gets such niceties as power windows, remote keyless entry and power locks.

A 202-horsepower, 3.8-liter V6 engine isn’t great off the line, but has enough pep.

Seats are acceptable, even though there is little room in the two passenger back — expected in a two-door vehicle that is less than 13 feet long. Four-door versions are 20.6 inches longer.

There’s not much space behind the rear seat, but more room opens up when the seat is folded flat. This remains a fun runabout.

A variety of tops are available. Our test drive had the dual-top group, a hard cover that can be removed and a soft top that can be put up if necessary.

The Wrangler comes with underbody skid plates and there are plenty of good safety features for any terrain, like electronic stability control with rollover mitigation, traction control, antilock brakes and newly standard hill-start assist, which keeps brake pressure on after the pedal has been released to slow rollback.

Like Jeeps of yore, the doors are removable and the windshield flips down. You know — just in case you want to.